Mischievous Faerie
by catharsys
Summary: It takes just a little swish of Lili’s wand to make Tsukimori Len say the words he’s kept so long from Hino Kahoko. // Oneshot


**SUMMARY: **It takes just a little swish of Lili's wand to make Tsukimori Len say the words he's kept so long from Hino Kahoko. // Oneshot

**DISCLAIMER:** No, La Corda d'Oro is not mine... although I wish Len is hahaha just kidding.

* * *

**MISCHIEVOUS FAERIE***

The blue sky was slowly giving way for the sunset. Streaks of orange, red and purple set off to draw a pattern on the clouds. Little by little, the walls of the practice room where he was in began to copy the color of the fading sun. The sounds of closing doors from the other rooms gradually drove to a halt and the hallway has gone quiet now.

Tsukimori Len had failed to realize that it's growing late already. Normally, he would always be aware of the time, especially when it concerns the number of hours he practices. Today, however, something he could not comprehend had just rooted him to this spot. He thought that he had heard a small voice leading him to this room, but quickly dismissed the idea. It must have been his imagination playing tricks on him because he was exhausted. Once he started playing though, all his weariness vanished he could not stop himself from producing music with his beloved violin.

_Is this how she feels every time she plays?_

He would have loved to stay here to practice some more, but a scheduled dinner with his parents and their colleagues was on the list of what to do next. Gingerly, the violinist placed his precious instrument in the velvet-layered case. Tonight would be another night of rigid elegance. He sighed as he closed the lid and secured the latch. Walking over to the exit, Tsukimori tried to predict what would happen later at dinner, and how the conversations would flow.

Refinement and gentlemanliness have always been cemented in his actions ever since the moment the blue-haired boy first inhaled oxygen. Stretching his memory to its farthest point, there had not been a time when he had not acted with cultured graciousness. This was the way Tsukimori was brought up and this was how it's always going to be.

But sometimes, even _the_ Tsukimori Len felt the need for a breather.

_*thud*_

The serious musings floating in and out of the musician's head were rudely interrupted by something blocking the door. Tsukimori peered at the glass panel to see what it is, only to find a foot most likely belonging to a girl. He prodded the door some more to allow wider space for his line of sight. From the narrow slit, he saw a Gen Ed student seated on the floor, with her back slumped on the wall.

She's no ordinary Gen Ed student, though. Her hair naturally radiated the hue of roses, as vivid as her animated personality. Although Tsukimori could not see it from his position, she has eyes like that of bullion, and full of life and spirit.

_Ahh, talk about my breather._

He almost smiled his rarely seen smile to himself. Almost. Because right now, he didn't need "his breather" to be slumbering here, blocking his way out of the practice room. He could not afford to be late for their little gathering this evening, so Tsukimori pressed his palm on the door and, as gently as he could, pushed it open.

"Hino," he called out to her. "Hino, wake up."

She stirred and fluttered her eyelids. While she did so, she might have seen Tsukimori craning down to her sleeping form. The redhead suddenly jolted from her rest and quickly stood up.

"Tsu- Tsukimori-kun!" she blurted out rather loudly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked impassively. "You were blocking my way."

"Ah! I'm sorry, Tsukimori-kun," bashfully, she apologized, and she handed out a stack of CDs neatly placed in a paper bag. "Here. I was hoping to return these right after class. Thank you for lending them to me. I enjoyed every track!"

_Right after class? That was more than hour ago._

"You're welcome. But why didn't you just knock? You wouldn't have waited this long if you did." He couldn't help but think that this girl has some innate oddities with her.

"Oh. Well, I didn't want to interrupt you," she replied, scratching her head and smiling.

_Did she get that habit from Hihara-senpai?_

"And you waited for more than an hour and fell asleep here?"

"Yeah, and I didn't notice the time. I guess I just enjoyed your music that much," she sheepishly admitted while sticking out her tongue a little.

_Cute._

Wait, no.

_I did not just think that._ Tsukimori Len does not use such shallow recognitions.

Shaking off the thought, he told her, "Thank you, but that is rather impractical and ab—"

He couldn't finish the sentence. He had thought of saying _absurd_ but apparently, he was tongue-tied… and quite literal at that.

_Now this is absurd. Who gets tongue-tied in the literal sense, anyway? _

Tsukimori cleared his throat and feigned a cough. Was he being punished for using harsh words? He was just being straightforward, wasn't he?

"Ah! Tsukimori-kun, this was the first practice room I used when I got in the concours!" she exclaimed, obviously buying the boy's fake cough. "This is where Lil— Ah, never mind. I mustn't keep you here. Are you going home now, Tsukimori-kun?"

_Lil? Who or what is that? Well, it must be none of my business. I need to prepare for our formal supper._

"Yes," came his curt answer.

_I hope I don't get my tongue stupidly tied later._

* * *

They'd been at this for almost two weeks now and she kept on forgetting the proper posture of her shoulders, arms and elbows, still. Tsukimori had agreed to be Hino's tutor for the coming concours, in which she had joined. Every day, after classes, they would head straight to a practice room to review the previous lesson and start the next. Only, the sessions they've been holding proved to be the greatest test of patience that had come for Tsukimori yet.

"As I have told you more than a dozen times, Hino, relax your shoulder more, and lift your bow this way," the music prodigy instructed, while softly holding her hand to the right position.

The practices were not all bad, though. It was little gestures like this that made the extra hours at school worthwhile.

Tsukimori admired Hino's passion for music and the violin. It was a different kind of passion—directed towards perfection, like the way Tsukimori pictured the world, but constantly entwined with emotions. This was the part the genius could not grasp very well. The sounds Hino produced were not comparable even to the sound _he_ made when he was barely twelve years old. Nevertheless, there was _something_ in the redhead's music that incessantly captured Tsukimori. Every time he heard her play, he noticed that Hino appeared to be blending in with the melody. She seemed like she was getting lost in another world but being totally in control at the same time. And if those were not enough to describe how her music affects him, her playing never failed to make Tsukimori feel like his breath was being woven with each note, his senses were being embraced by each change in pitch.

"Tsukimori-kun, how's this?" Hino asked politely, showing him her posture.

He studied her improved stance… At first, it was just Hino's music that Tsukimori was drawn into. But after the time they'd spent together, the practices they held, the meals they shared and the night walks they'd made a habit of, the violin prodigy was drawn into the amateur herself.

Of course, Tsukimori Len, the great Ice Cube would never admit that, not in a hundred years, not even if another Ice Age had passed.

Yet, that did not change the fact that he _liked_ her, maybe _loved_ her, even.

_You're a different kind of perfection. Just perfect…_

"Perfect," he promptly commented.

_What the—? Did my voice box just do that on its own?_

"Really?! Tsukimori-kun, you think I did it perfectly this time?" Hino excitedly said, her features lighting up. She was obviously uplifted.

"No," Tsukimori unkindly took it back.

Dropping her shoulders, Hino gave an incredulous whine. "Eh!? But you just said it was perfect!"

"Perfectly incorrect. You didn't let me finish. Your shoulder was too tense. If you maintain that kind of pose longer, you will feel stiff," he dryly explained, regaining his stubborn pride and draining out Hino's spirits.

_What's wrong with me?_

* * *

"She plays so well," Hino whispered to no one in particular as she watched in amazement the performance on the stage. "And she's so beautiful, too."

Tsukimori had invited her to come and watch a small and exclusive concert where the musicians were his parents' friends. Sitting here in front, they acquired the best view of the show. However, Tsukimori was not concentrated on the current presentation at all. Instead, he was trying to keep himself from staring at the red-haired girl seated on his right.

Hino was dressed in a simple gown. It flowed delicately on her flawless skin and the silkiness of the pink fabric seemed to complement her complexion. Her fiery red hair was tied into a bun, deliberately loose so that random locks of her tresses freely fell down at the back, with those in front faintly cupping her face. Tsukimori had to fight the urge to cup Hino's smooth face with his hands instead, and lean closer to her and stare into her eyes of golden brown and…

_No, I should not be thinking those thoughts! And you call yourself a gentleman!_ He reprimanded himself inwardly. The distracted violinist mentally forced his thoughts to focus on the performance in front, but the applause of the audience told him that it was over. Hino was clapping her hands with them enthusiastically.

As the rest of the spectators started to stand from their seats and move toward the exit, Hino faced Tsukimori, "Tsukimori-kun, the show was brilliant, wasn't it? Did you enjoy? I loved every bit of it! I can't thank you enough for taking me here!" Her sunny character glowed in the night.

"Don't think of it. I'm glad you enjoyed."

"And the lady in the royal blue gown—What was her name?—She was excellent! And really beautiful, too, don't you think?" Hino asked expectantly.

_But you are undoubtedly more beautiful than her…_

"But you are undoubtedly more beautiful than her."

_Did I say that out loud?! What—what's going on here?!_

"E-eh?" the girl responded unsurely.

Knowing that there was no escaping this time, Tsukimori decided to go with the flow. "Certainly, you heard what I said, Hino?"

"Uhm, yes, I did… Thank you, Tsukimori-kun," she said tenderly. Tsukimori could see some tinges of red on her cheeks.

"We should go and grab dinner. You must be hungry now."

_I must be hungry now, saying those words without my own consent._

Tsukimori was not complaining, though. It was nice to let Hino know how he thought of her, once in a while.

_But I better be careful next time._

* * *

Tsukimori was irritated.

_Ten minutes has passed and you're still talking about him._

He and Hino were at the school garden, taking a break from practice. Tsukimori had noticed earlier that she was not being her usual self—she had seemed to have a lot in her mind, utterly confused. So, being the gentleman that he was, he had decided to let Hino have a break and had offered to talk about what was bothering her, if she wanted to. (In fact, it was for Hino only that he'd go as far as being a patient listener to a problem that was not his business.)

Somewhat, he regretted that offer.

"…I mean, Tsuchiura-kun is my good friend, but…" Hino tried to explain.

As much as Tsukimori wanted to help Hino, the fact alone that the topic of their conversation was Tsuchiura Ryoutarou was enough for the violinist to mentally plug his ears and hear about the pianist no more. Otherwise, he would just explode in fury. Actually, he only engaged in this conversation because it was _with_ Hino. If she were someone else, Tsukimori would have stormed away at the first syllable of the pianist's name.

_No—why do I have to share the same first syllable with him, anyway?!_ Ok, maybe he'd storm away at the mention of the pianist's name, just to be sure.

He could not exactly place the reason for this chagrin toward the greenhead. All Tsukimori knew was that he didn't want the pianist being all too buddy-buddy with Hino, talking with her for hours, eating meals together, getting his arms around her shoulders (Tsukimori nearly crushed the stone bench with his hands at the thought of that), and whatnot.

"…I just felt suddenly awkward and uncomfortable when he asked me out on a date…" Hino continued, oblivious to Tsukimori's eyebrow that darted up so high it could've knocked a plane down.

_Oh, so that TREE of a person wants to go out on a date with you, eh?_

And as if the ten-minute blabber about the pianist was not enough, Tsukimori just _had_ to hear from Hino herself that Tsuchiura finally took up the courage to ask her out.

All his boiling blood must have evaporated by now.

"What should I do, Tsukimori-kun?" At last, Hino stopped.

_Turn him down._

At those words, Tsukimori finally realized why he was so easily infuriated by Tsuchiura. He was jealous of the pianist, as much as he hated to admit it. And now, he was behind the Gen Ed guy in pursuing Hino. He felt his vexation shot a notch up, and he wished to slam the greenhead's face onto the grand piano then shut the lid down for good.

_Whatever happened to civility and refinement?_ He tried to calm himself.

"Tsukimori-kun?" Hino stepped closer, noticing the blue-haired boy's sudden change of mood.

_That Tsuchiura makes me jealous. Don't even think about saying yes._

"That Tsuchiura makes me jealous. Don't even think about saying yes."

"What?" the crimson haired girl reacted as fast as her eyes forming a pair of small saucers.

"What?" was the only counter Tsukimori could think of.

"Tsukimori-kun is jealous of Tsuchiu—?"

"No, I am not."

"But you just said—"

"No, I did not."

"But I heard you—"

"It must have been you imagination," Tsukimori snapped. Hino quieted at his stern tone.

_Kami-sama, please tell me that I did NOT just tell Hino that I'm jealous of that TREE._

But that thought was plain desperation on Tsukimori's part. His voice was as clear as the blue sky above. Imagination? His excuse was completely invalid. Even Hino was not _that_ dense to buy that. He would just have to rely on her hopefully feeble memory to keep this conversation buried in the archives of embarrassing moments. Futilely trying to find an explanation for all this talking-without-my-consent mess and to somehow apologize to the girl in front of him, Tsukimori felt his mind transform into a torrent of useless blob.

_Is this some sort of… VOODOO!?_

* * *

The event in the garden last week, much to Tsukimori's delight, faded into a silent memory between him and Hino. Brightening his day up another level was the news from Amou-san that Hino had not gone out with Tsuchiura. He hadn't found out the reason, though. What was important was that the date did not push through.

Tsukimori hoped, however, that there was no more awkwardness between him and the redhead. She had greeted him every morning in the past week, as usual. That was a good sign right? But other than those "Good morning's", they hadn't been in one actual conversation yet.

He sighed. _Well, I guess I'll find out today._

On break time, the prodigy was on his way to the Gen Ed student's classroom, earning him quizzical looks and curious whispers. _The _Tsukimori Len walking in the corridors of the Gen Ed building was not a common sight after all. As a matter of fact, he would not have been there if not for Kanazawa-sensei's favor to deliver a message to Hino Kahoko about the concours.

"_Aww, c'mon Tsukimori, the Gen Ed building is not that far. And besides, you want to see Hino, don't you?" the silver-haired teacher gave a knowing smirk._

"_I don't know what you're talking about, Kanazawa-sensei," Tsukimori flatly retorted._

"_Ahhh… in any case, just tell her, ok? Thanks, Tsukimori." The teacher smoked his cigar and walked away, not bothering to hear Tsukimori's protests._

_That teacher, how could he be so lazy?_ Tsukimori complained as he recalled his short conversation with Kanazawa-sensei. _And what does he think he's talking about, me wanting to see Hino?_

In truth, he _did_ want to see Hino. Not only that, he craved to _talk_ to her again. The quiet week that passed was dull and lifeless, he secretly confessed to himself.

"Kaho-chan!" Someone in the corridor called out her name. She must be nearby. The hallways were starting to empty.

_Kahoko._ That was what he desired to call her for a long time now. Of course, that would suggest a rather intimate relationship between the two of them. The problem was, Tsukimori had no idea how Hino felt for him. Could it be that his feelings for the amateur violinist was one-sided? That hurt his pride a bit.

Tsukimori imagined a scenario where he referred to Hino as "Kahoko".

She would think that either: a) he was being an impolite jerk or b) he regarded Hino as someone who was more than a friend, and it was some sort of an indirect confession of feelings.

Being the ultimate and proud block of ice that he was, Tsukimori favored the first hypothesis.

Turning to the corner, Tsukimori's vision landed on the familiar red hair. There was no one in the corridor anymore, except for Hino. About a couple of feet for distance, she was faced in his direction, and her eyes widened in alarm.

_Kahoko._

"Kahoko." He smacked his head mentally for the stupid slip.

_What the hell is wrong with me?!_

Hino gasped, "Tsu- Tsukimori-kun…"

"I—I'm sorry—I did not mean to—I'm so sorry…" he stammered like today was the last day for stumbling on words.

Silence fell on the two violinists. For some lingering and anxious moments, no one made a move to break the stony stillness. Hino was furiously blushing; Tsukimori did not fail to take note of that.

_Or maybe her face is red because of anger?_

Panic surprisingly flooded Tsukimori's mind, that he found it extremely difficult now to distinguish blushing from being angry. The useless blob of a brain that once told him about the possibility of a voodoo curse seemed to crawl back into his skull. Along that was an unfamiliar heat rushing up his cheeks.

"Hin—"

"It sounds kind of nice, actually," the crimson-haired violinist muttered, her sheepish smile painted on her still blushing face.

"What? You mean…?" And the man of a few words was inescapably a man of not more than three words at this point.

"If you call me 'Kahoko', is it alright if I call you 'Len'?" she slowly, expectantly asked him.

"O-of course… Kahoko." That felt extremely good and liberating.

"Len." Her face lit up and her smile spread, reaching her ears. The mere sight of her picturesque expression was more than enough to make Tsukimori shut out any other irrelevant thoughts from his mind, especially the useless blob—it was flushed away now.

Faintly, Tsukimori sensed some things above their heads: a soft tingling of chimes, a mischievous snicker, remotely perceptible sparks, and an almost inaudible remark, "Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko. I knew my plan would work!" Another snigger, and flicker then it was gone.

It must have been his imagination (Tsukimori apparently grew fond of that word), so he chose to ignore it. All that mattered was they would call each other by their first names from this moment on. Its _implication_, and the bliss of the moment ultimately left Tsukimori's mind blank. No complaints there, though. All he could do was smirk his handsome crooked smile as a response, and he did so…

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The idea came to me while stuck in traffic. I think the ending is a bit rushed, though. Sorry about that; I might edit it some time. And sorry for the grammatical and typo errors, too. Initially, I wrote this using present tense and first person POV, then changed it to past and third person. It's past 2 AM now and I need to wake up at 6 AM later, so pardon the mistakes.

*****"Faerie" is actually an alternative spelling for "fairy". I believe it's not incorrect. ^_^ Well, I kind of deliberated on this matter when I thought of this fic's title. I wanted to use "faerie" because it somehow "looks" unique, but then it may cause some confusion. Apparently, it did. I apologize for that. I have no plans of changing the title as of yet, though.

** Oh, yeah. I'm still thinking of a sequel for this. So far, I haven't thought of any follow up, yet. *sigh* But, if you wanna write fic taking off from this as well, feel free to do so. ^_^

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you hit that button down there and review... I will love you forever. Haha ^_^


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